CVE-2020-8277

A Node.js application that allows an attacker to trigger a DNS request for a host of their choice could trigger a Denial of Service in versions < 15.2.1, < 14.15.1, and < 12.19.1 by getting the application to resolve a DNS record with a larger number of responses. This is fixed in 15.2.1, 14.15.1, and 12.19.1.

Published: 2020-11-19 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2020-8277 is rated High Risk (65.5/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 54.16%, 99th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-8277

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-20 53.23% 54.16% +0.93%
2 2026-06-15 58.88% 53.23% -5.65%
3 2026-05-28 — 58.88% —

Full EPSS history (62 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-8277

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 3.6 [email protected]
5.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 10.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-8277

OS Trackers for CVE-2020-8277

vendor priority summary link
alpine high CVE-2020-8277: 2 source package rows (nodejs, nodejs-current); 26 state rows across 16 repos (3.11-main, 3.12-main, 3.17-community, 3.17-main, 3.18-community, 3.18-main, 3.19-community, 3.19-main, 3.20-community, 3.20-main, 3.21-community, 3.21-main, 3.22-community, 3.22-main, edge-community, edge-main); fixed 16, open 10. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2020-8277
debian not yet assigned CVE-2020-8277 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (c-ares), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-8277
gentoo normal CVE-2020-8277: 2 GLSA(s) (202012-11, 202101-07), 2 atom(s) (net-dns/c-ares, net-libs/nodejs); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2020-8277
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8277
suse high CVE-2020-8277 severity important: SUSE including 323 source package names (0.3.2-1.2:libcares2-1.17.0-3.8.1, 0.3.32-3.4:libcares2-1.17.0-3.8.1, …), 691 product×package rows across 315 product lines (Container bci/node, Container bci/nodejs, … (315 product lines)): Fixed 486, Known Affected 157, Known Not Affected 48. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8277/
ubuntu medium CVE-2020-8277 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (c-ares), 6 status rows across 6 suites (bionic, focal, groovy, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 3, DNE 1, needs-triage 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-8277

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-8277

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
nodejs node.js >= 12.16.3, < 12.19.1 cpe:2.3:a:nodejs:node.js:*:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
nodejs node.js >= 14.13.0, < 14.15.1 cpe:2.3:a:nodejs:node.js:*:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
nodejs node.js >= 15.0.0, < 15.2.1 cpe:2.3:a:nodejs:node.js:*:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 32 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 33 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle blockchain_platform < 21.1.2 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:blockchain_platform:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle graalvm 19.3.4 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:graalvm:19.3.4:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
oracle graalvm 20.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:graalvm:20.3.0:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
oracle jd_edwards_enterpriseone_tools < 9.2.6.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:jd_edwards_enterpriseone_tools:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle mysql_cluster <= 8.0.23 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:mysql_cluster:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle retail_xstore_point_of_service 16.0.6 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:16.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle retail_xstore_point_of_service 17.0.4 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:17.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle retail_xstore_point_of_service 18.0.3 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:18.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle retail_xstore_point_of_service 19.0.2 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:19.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
c-ares_project c-ares < 1.16.0 cpe:2.3:a:c-ares_project:c-ares:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-8277

URL Tags
https://hackerone.com/reports/1033107 Permissions Required Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/A7WH7W46OZSEUHWBHD7TCH3LRFY52V6Z/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BEJBY3RJB3XWUOJFGZM5E3EMQ7MFM3UT/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/EEIV4CH6KNVZK63Y6EKVN2XDW7IHSJBJ/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/VXLJY4764LYVJPC7NCDLE2UMQ3QC5OI2/
https://nodejs.org/en/blog/vulnerability/november-2020-security-releases/ Patch Vendor Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202012-11 Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-07 Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.html Patch Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html Patch Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html Patch Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2021.html Patch Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html Patch Third Party Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence